Hurricane Hermine makes landfall in Florida

The hurricane, the first to hit Florida in more than a decade, made landfall overnight in the panhandle. Governor Rick Scott warned of the danger of strong storm surges, high winds, downed trees and power outages. Hermine is expected to drop back down to a tropical storm and push rapidly into Georgia. Where the first major Caribbean storm in what is anticipated to be a busy hurricane season tracks next over the holiday weekend is unclear to meteorologists. It could stall off Georgia, go out to sea, or hit New York.

Samsung reports smartphone fire issues

The Korean tech giant Samsung has suspended sales of its top-end Galaxy Note 7 smartphone after confirming that in 35 cases the newly launched devices have exploded while being charged. The company stopped short of full recall. It said it would take two weeks to prepare replacement devices of which 2.5m had been manufactured and 1m had been sold.

Georgetown University slavery apology runs into problems

Just as John DeGioia, president of Georgetown University in Washington, concluded a speech pledging to make a formal apology for the 1838 sale of 272 slaves and give preference in admissions to their descendants, a group of descendants claiming to have been left out of the process rushed the stage. “Nothing about us without us,” they shouted. “If reconciliation is gonna take place as it has to, it needs to start at home and you don’t start reconciling by alienating,” said slave descendant Joe Stewart.

Atlantic City’s premonition of a Trump America

On the night of 2 April 1990, Donald Trump threw a party for the opening of his new $1.1bn Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. Michael Jackson, Elle Macpherson and other stars and socialites were flown in for the bash. Trump called his new premises, with its $16m worth of chandeliers, the “eighth wonder of the world” –and one that would transform the fortunes of New Jersey. But it didn’t, and now the Taj is set to close its doors permanently on 10 October.

Hillary Clinton’s cash haul

Clinton’s presidential campaign has had its best month ever, bringing in more than $143m in August for the campaign, as well as for the Democratic party, and setting the candidate up with bulging $152m pre-fall war chest. Donald Trump’s campaign has not yet reported its August fundraising numbers.

Biden silences critic over personal loss

Faced with a man bereaved by the Syrian war during a campaign rally for Hillary Clinton, vice-president Joe Biden, who lost his son Beau to cancer, issued a reply that silenced the room. “My friends died, my American friends,” the heckler shouted. “Will you listen? So did my son, OK?” the vice-president shot back.

Melania Trump sues the Daily Mail

Lawyers for Melania Trump on Thursday filed suit for $150m damages against the UK’s Daily Mail and blogger Webster Tarpley in Maryland state court in response to published articles reporting rumors that Trump worked as an escort in the 1990s. The “defendants’ actions are so egregious, malicious and harmful to Mrs Trump that her damages are estimated at $150m”, said Trump’s lawyer Charles Harder. The Daily Mail printed a retraction today.

SpaceX loses another rocket

Notwithstanding the spectacular explosion of the reusable SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket yesterday at Cape Canaveral – and the destruction of a Facebook satellite meant to expand internet access in Africa – the loss is hardly unprecedented, writes Alan Yuhas. The first time Nasa tried to launch a satellite into orbit, in December 1957, the rocket made it 4ft off the ground before crumpling into a blossom of smoke and fire. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said he was “deeply disappointed” by the destruction of his satellite.

Smith & Wesson reports strong profits

Smith & Wesson, the second largest gunmaker in the US, made $87.6m in latest quarterly profits – a jump of 49% – in a period that included the Orlando nightclub shootings in June and the Dallas police shootings in July. Nearly 2.2m firearms background checks were processed this July, up from 1,600,832 last year. Smith & Wesson president James Debney attributed the gains to strong consumer demand.

Kaepernick sits it out for the anthem, again

Colin Kaepernick and San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid knelt during the national anthem on Thursday night, continuing the quarterback’s preseason protest against American racial injustice and minority oppression, the Associated Press reports. Kaepernick received scattered boos from the San Diego Chargers crowd – but got heavier boos when he led the 49ers on a 16-play, 85-yard touchdown drive.